Charlie Johnson, One Fine Nose Tackle—R.I.P

 By John Turney 

Charlie Johnson

A week ago, former nose tackle Charlie Johnson passed away—August 13, 2021, he was 69. No cause of death was announced.

Though he was the three-time All-Pro (1979-81)—he also went to the Pro Bowl those three years as well few remember him. 

He played college football at the University of Colorado and in 1977 the Philadelphia Eagles took him in the 7th round NFL Draft. At CU he was all Big-8 as a senior and led the Buffs in tackles as a junior and in sacks as well with 11. Prior to enrolling at CU, Johnson played a Tyler Junior College where he was a JC All-American in 1974. 

Four weeks into his rookie season he earned the starting nose tackle position in the Eagles 3-4 defense and held until he was hurt in the twelfth week.  

In 1978 he picked up right where he left off, stuffing the run in the middle of the Eagles defense. For his position he was credited with an inordinate amount of tackles, averaging almost 100 a year with the Eagles. 

In 1980 center Ton Delone of the Browns picked Johnson as the best nose tackle he faced. Teammate John Bunting said "Nost tackle is a human target with people coming at him from all angles. Bunting added, "He's the best I've seen he's strong, fast, intelligent, enthusiastic. He's always ready to play."

Though Johnson had good quickness, he used his power to beat blocks. Said Johnson, "A lot of nose guards 'slant' to the point of attack. Me? I just come at the center straight on."  Noting that nose is a tough position but that "I'm built for it. I've got a lot of strength in my arms and a low center of gravity and these tree stump legs—I'm a little tank."

Indeed he was at 6-3, 266 pounds and his weight seemed to be distributed from the waist down. He was reported to bench press well over 400 pounds and had a 4.8 forty to his credit. 

He also kept his eye up, apparently, picking off five passes, including three in 1980 which is the most-ever in a single season by an interior defensive lineman, much less a nose tackle.

Most interceptions, defensive tackle, career—

Mike Jarmoluk—7

Charlie Johnson—5

Haloti Ngata—5

Dan Wilkinson—5

Kevin Williams—5

The Eagles pushed through the 1980 playoffs and to Super Bowl XV, losing to the Oakland Raiders but the strength of those teams was the defense. As a rookie, the Eagles defense was average but improving from a pretty sorry state in 1976.

In 1978 the Eagles were fifth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed and fifth in points allowed. They slipped some in 1979 but in 1980 they allowed the fewest points, the second-fewest yards, were second-best in rushing yards allowed and allowed the fewest rushing touchdowns.

In 1981 they were fourth in rushing yards allowed but number one in the NFL in points allowed and yards allowed and in all of that Johnson played a key role.

In 1982 Johnson felt Eagles Head Coach Dick Vermeil's camps were too tough and after doing it for five years he wanted to move on. He walked out of camp and asked for a trade. He said he wanted to play until he was 35 (he was already 30 even though he was just entering his sixth season, he started in the NFL when he was 25 due to serving in the military before college). 

Johnson said he wanted to go to an organization where he could focus "his hitting on Sundays." He specified he wanted to go to the West Coast, "preferable Oakland" which he said was where his heart was. 

The Eagles obliged and sent him to not California, but Minnesota for a 1983 second-round pick. However, as a consolation, Bud Grant was not known for not running boot camps in the Summer or during the season. 

Johnson started three seasons with the Vikings, the final one in 1984, under Les Steckel a former marine and whose ideas were similar to Vermeil when it came to padded/hitting practices.

Steckel, according to Johnson, pushed religion on players, something Steckel said wasn't accurate but that Johnson was adamant about and always maintained that it was true.

When Bud Grant returned in 1985 Johnson was cut in September, the papers citing his $230,000 being part of the reason and that youngest Tim Newton was showing a lot of promise.

Regardless, 1984 was Johnson's last NFL season.

So, while it may be true that few remember Johnson but he's one who was part of the hidden game of football, among the best at his unglorified position and was a bull-like or "tank-like" player who used tremendous leverage to plug the middle and for his time in Philly the Eagles did it very well

From 1978-81 the Eagles were second-best in the NFL in fewest yards rushing in that four-year span. They were also second in fewest rushing touchdowns allowed.

Stopping the run first was Vermeil's goal as it put teams in passing situations and in that same 1978-81 span the Eagles allowed a 58.9 defensive passer rating which was also second-best in the NFL.

Good versus the run and good versus the pass means good defense, right? Yep, the Eagles allowed the second-fewest total yards and we buried the lede—no team from 1978-81 allowed fewer points than the Eagles defense. No one.

So Johnson is at least 1/11th of that, perhaps more because he's the only three-time First-team All-Pro on that defense in that time. 

Prior to the NFL, Johnson was a JC All-American and then did a tour in Viet Nam before enrolling at the University of Colorado where he played middle guard, preparing him for the vigors of an NFL nose tackle. 

Well done, Charlie. 

Johnson's 1980 NFC Championship Ring

Career stats—

Billy Howton's Rookie Season of 1952

 By John Turney

Billy Howton

In 1952  the Green Bay Packers drafted an end named Billy Howton in the 2nd round (15th overall) of the NFL Draft. and he proceeded to have a tremendous rookie year, one of the best ever, even to this day. 

As per Pro Football Reference.com (PFR) Howton's 102.6 yards receiving per game is still third-all time among rookies (Min: 9 games)—

Chart credit: PFR

His 13 receiving touchdowns are second-best among rookies, behind Randy Moss's 17. However, Howton caught his in 12 games (1.08 per game) and Moss caught his 17 touchdowns in 16 games (1.06) per game—so who is really first? 

Do we go by the season total of 17? That would mean Moss is first even though he played four more games. Or do we go by touchdown passes caught per game which favors Howton 1.08 to 1.06?

Good question. Now the NFL makes no allowances for per-game records, even though this year the season expands to 17 games. Pregame records have always made sense, but, hey, it's not our circus and they are not our elephants. 

Here are the season totals for touchdown passes caught by rookies as per PFR—

Chart credit: Pro Football Reference

Regardless, it's one of the top handful of rookie seasons ever by a receiver and it's good to remember such things every once in a while. 

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: The Gambling Issue

 By TJ Troup

Pleasantly surprised that the September Issue of Sports Illustrated arrived the other day, especially since my subscription has expired. 

Exceptional writer L. Jon Wertheim is the main writer; though there are others that contributed to the articles on gambling. Mr. Wertheim has been with SI for many years, and he has written books such as This Is Your Brain on Sports & Rookie Bookie. 

By this time all of you know or should know my vocation was coaching/teaching. Defining terms is always a challenge, and as such defining work ethic, competitive nature, focus, and finally discipline is difficult for all the reasons you can imagine. 

Rather than detail my work ethic, competitive nature, etc...let's just say serious and intense fit me like a glove. 

Why gamble? The answer to that question would be a long one, yet was very intrigued by the time I was in my late 30's about betting on horses. The hours of study, and the hours spent at the track seem like a long time ago. 

Can visual some races in the memory banks like it was yesterday. Mistakes? Hell yes, but overall over the course of my 20 years betting on horses was a journey worth taking. Though could go hours on this topic, learned that my chances of success came on the biggest days of the year—Kentucky Derby and Breeder's Cup. 

Betting the horses day to day was a grind that was not only draining emotionally but struggled mightily to make a profit. Basketball? Baseball? tried those two, but did not fare well. 

College football? Oh yeah, when my offshore book allowed me to do moneyline wagering on multiple teams. Years ago as Paul Lionel Zimmerman and myself got to know each other better, came to realize he not only was fascinated with pro football wagers, he was not allowed to gamble due to his contract with SI. 

A few times appeared in his column in late summer when he discussed the upcoming season, and which teams would win more games than Vegas thought they would, or teams would lose more games than Vegas thought they would. The amount of study coupled with some insight from years of following the game...this was my wheelhouse. 

Now back to the gambling issue! Wertheim details the "Big Picture", while Ben Pickman writes about the bettors. Liz Lewis and Meghan Rominger did research, and cover "The Baddest of the Bad". All in all a very entertaining issue, and for those of you who enjoy gambling you probably should get a copy. 

When SI releases its Pro Football Issue, and the writer's list what they believe to be each teams' win total, will respond in my "Tuesday Tidbits" column with my thoughts on which team and/or teams will win more or lose more. In closing, story time from my youth, and yes dovetails with gambling. 

Late autumn on a Saturday morning at the Junior High School I attended with a few friends for a sandlot tackle football game. The two skills that over the years came to be known for was tackling and catching the ball. 

One of my best friends, and team mate since Junior High...has arranged this game, and one of our opponents has a big mouth and is an ego-driven idiot who claims no one can tackle him. Yes, he has size, and he has some speed, but have been down this road many times already in my life. 

Not being an impressive specimen of manhood at the age of seventeen (5' 11", 155 lbs) they thought they would dominate me and us. Sheer folly? Stupidity? Whatever.....my friend was lightning quick, ran terrific routes, and had moves galore. Was easy getting the ball to him, and he scored almost all of our touchdowns. 

The ego-driven idiot ran hard, but over the course of the game tackled him every time he carried the ball. Not sure he ever scored? He thought he would wear me down, yet the traits that carried me through was stamina and heart. They finally gave up, humiliated, and did congratulate us, and stated to my friend about how well I played. 

Then...with my eyes becoming as big as silver dollars, witnessed one of the opponents pulling a $20 out of his pocket—remember this is the autumn of '68...twenty bucks is big money. My friend wagered two bucks on us at 10-1 that we would win as he knew that it did not matter to me if money was at stake...anyone who carried the ball was going to go down. 

What do I get out of this I asked? Damn that hamburger and coke tasted great as we ate and talked about our victory. 

Remembering Verne Lewellen, Packers Two-Way Era Superstar

LOOKING BACK
By Chris Willis, NFL Films

Today PFJ looks back at one of the most impressive Two-Way Era players in NFL history- former Green Bay Packers halfback Verne Lewellen.

The six-foot-one, 182-pound Lewellen played 9 seasons with the Packers (102 games total) from 1924 to 1932. He played his entire career under Hall of Fame coach Curly Lambeau who used Lewellen to build his offense around. Lewellen also played 3 games with Red Grange’s New York Yankees at the end of the 1927 NFL season.

Looking at his career the overlooked Lewellen was one of the best all-around halfbacks to play during the NFL’s two-way era (1920-1945), leading the Packers to three straight NFL championships in 1929-1931.

Strengths:

One of the NFL’s best all-around halfbacks during the Two-Way Era, Lewellen was an excellent runner and receiver in Curly Lambeau’s Notre Dame box offense. He wasn’t asked to throw as often as his teammates Red Dunn and Lambeau himself, but could be effective when asked to pass. Playing in the secondary Lewellen was an equally excellent defensive player and tackler.

But what separated Lewellen from some of the other two-way halfbacks he was one of the best at his position performing the 2 most important aspects of the Two-Way Era: Punting (for field position) and Scoring!

Verne Lewellen, Packers halfback, throwing

PUNTING:

Arguably the game’s best punter for the first three decades- maybe only surpassed by Sammy Baugh. When researching the newspaper accounts and game play-by-plays you can see that his punting skills truly affective the outcome of games. Accorded to the stats published in The Football Encyclopedia by David Neft, Richard Cohen, and Rick Korch, Lewellen averaged nearly 40-yards a punt from 1926-1931.

He often punted on 1^st and 3^rd down as much as he did on 4^th down, and routinely kicked inside his opponents 45-yard line for field possession. Looking at his 1929 season one can see how Lewellen was a weapon punting on any down. According to play-by-plays from the Packers and the Green Bay Press-Gazette Lewellen punted 84 times in 1929. The breakdown was:

1^st Down (24 times); 2^nd Down (8 times); 3^rd Down (27 times); and 4^th Down (25 times)

Verne Lewellen, punting

He also had a knack for the coffin corner kicks. “Lewellen was the greatest punter I ever saw. I never saw Jim Thorpe punt, but I saw a lot of others. I don’t think they kept any stats when he was punting, but I saw him punt 80 yards. I saw him punt the ball out on the five, the three, the 10,” said Mike Michalske, Packers Hall of Fame guard, to the Green Bay Press-Gazette in 1980. Arthur Daley, long-time sportswriter for the New York Times and an early Hall of Fame voter, wrote in 1962, “He was the finest punter these eyes ever saw.”

Besides Punting, Lewellen also excelled in putting points on the scoreboard.

SCORING:

In an Era (1920-1932) where the average points scored per game was 10 points per game, Lewellen was one of the all-time best at pointing points on the scoreboard. [Note: Era where NFL had passing restrictions pre-1933, limited offenses, pass behind LOS 5 yds.; incomplete pass in endzone turned ball over].

In his nine seasons Lewellen scored 51 total touchdowns. During the Two-Way Era, from 1920-1945, NO OTHER BACK scored more total TDs than Lewellen. Out of the 23 Hall of Fame Backs who played during the Two-Way Era, Lewellen scored more TDs than all of them (see below list). If you count the 7 Two-Way Ends only Don Hutson scored more touchdowns.

Verne Lewellen: 51 Total TDs included 37 rushing.; 12 receiving.; 1 fumble recovery.; 1 INT return.

Touchdowns, Hall of Fame Backs, Who Played, 1920-1945

(Halfbacks, Quarterbacks, Fullbacks, played Two-Way Era, 23 players) 

Verne Lewellen- 51 TDs (105 games)

 Johnny Blood- 49 (137 games)

Bill Dudley- 44 (90 games)
Clarke Hinkle- 44 (113 games)
Dutch Clark- 42 (75 games)
George McAfee- 39 (75 games)
Ernie Nevers- 38 (54 games)
Ken Strong- 34 (131 games)
Red Grange- 32 (96 games)
Cliff Battles- 31 (60 games)
Paddy Driscoll- 31 (118 games)
Tony Canadeo – 31 (116 games)
Jimmy Conzelman- 26 (104 games)
Bronko Nagurski- 25 (97 games)
Tuffy Leemans- 20 (80 games)
Ace Parker – 20 (68 games)
Benny Friedman – 18 (81 games)
Fritz Pollard – 12 (49 games)
Joe Guyon – 10 (46 games)
Curly Lambeau – 12 (77 games)
Sammy Baugh – 9 (165 games)
Arnie Herber – 7 (129 games)
Jim Thorpe – 6 (52 games)
Sid Luckman – 6 (128 games)

[Note: Only Steve Van Buren had more TDs (77 TDs; 83 games) than Lewellen, but his rookie year was in 1944] [Marion Motley had 39 career TDs; 105 games]

Lewellen was a scoring machine:

·       When he retired held the NFL record for touchdowns scored with 51- broken by Don Hutson in 1941.

·        Led Packers in Scoring for 5 straight years, 1926-1930 (307 total points).

·        Twice led the NFL in TDs Scored, 1928 (9) and 1930 (9).

·        At the beginning of the 2021 NFL season, Lewellen still ranks number 11th all-time in Packers Touchdowns Scored, although he hasn’t scored a TD in 88 years.

1.)      Don Hutson -105
2.)      Jim Taylor- 91
3.)      Jordy Nelson- 69
4.)      Ahman Green- 68
5.)      Sterling Sharpe- 66
6.)      Paul Hornung- 62
7.)      Donald Driver- 62
8.)      Devante Adams- 62
9.)      Antonio Freeman- 57
10.)  Greg Jennings- 53
11.)  Verne Lewellen- 51 (*tied Max McGee)

Also, he still ranks fourth all-time in Packers history in rushing TDs:

1)     1.)    Jim Taylor (HOF) - 81
2.)      Ahman Green - 54
3.)      Paul Hornung (HOF) - 50
4.)      Verne Lewellen - 37; Aaron Jones - 37
5.)      Clarke Hinkle (HOF) - 35

Winning:

Another special part of Lewellen’s impact was helping Green Bay win games. Because he scored touchdowns and help win the field possession battle, Lewellen guided the Packers to 3 straight NFL Championships, 1929-1931. During those three seasons, the Packers went an incredible 34-5-2. Over his nine seasons, the Packers went a combined 79-26-10, winning .75% of his games. He never had a losing season. Just as impressive were the games where he scored a touchdown.

Games Scoring a Touchdown:

His 51 Total TDs came in 43 different games (26 of those TDs were go-ahead TDs). The Packers went 36-5-2 in those games. During the 3-year championship run (1929-31) the Packers were almost unbeatable when Lewellen scored, going 19-1!

1929: 7-0
1930: 7-1
1931: 5-0

Lewellen was a leader among a team of great players. Hall of Famers Johnny "Blood" McNally (WB), Cal Hubbard (T), Curly Lambeau (QB), Mike Michalske (G), and All-Pro end Lavvie Dilweg all looked up to Lewellen in helping the Packers win those three straight championships. 

HONORS:

To be expected Lewellen was one of the most decorated halfbacks in the two-way era, earning First-team All-Pro honors from several media outlets during his time.

First-team All-Pros:

(4) Green Bay Press-Gazette: 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929
(3) Chicago Tribune: 1927, 1928, 1929
(1) Collyers: 1929
(1) Leroy Andrews (coach NFL’s Cleveland Bulldogs): 1927

Second-team All-Pros:

Green Bay Press-Gazette: 1925
Milwaukee Sentinel: 1930

Verne Lewellen, Packers halfback

In 1970 he was elected to the Packers Hall of Fame. The only honor he didn’t receive was the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1920s which is unfortunate because Lewellen was equal or better than the players they selected—the halfbacks chosen were Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, Curly Lambeau, & Joe Guyon.

Signature Moment/Game:

Lewellen also had a signature moment in his career that showed off his special skills. Late in 1929, on November 24^th, the undefeated Packers (9-0) played the unbeaten New York Giants (8-0-1) for first place in the NFL. Although there wasn’t an NFL Championship Game at this time, essentially the winner of this game was going to be the champs. 25,000 fans showed up at the Polo Grounds to watch.

Lewellen went beyond the call of duty. Due to an injury starting quarterback Red Dunn missed the game, so Lambeau moved Lewellen to quarterback, Johnny Blood played halfback with Hurdis McCrary, while Bo Molenda at fullback. The Packers didn’t miss a beat with Lewellen guiding the team.

Punting was the key of the game as Lewellen kept the ball away from Giants Hall of Fame quarterback Benny Friedman who Lewellen outplayed in a match-up of the NFL’s two best players. Friedman threw for an NFL record 20 TDs in 1929, including one in this game, but was out-shined by Lewellen throughout this contest. Watching the game film of this game Lewellen was very impressive with his directional punting, considering the Polo Grounds field was very muddy. Lewellen’s punting stats were:

·         7 Punts, 354 yards (average of 50.6 yards per punt)

·         70, 63, 43, 65, 41, 40, 27

In the first quarter Lewellen threw a 4-yard TD pass to Herdis McCrary for the game’s first score (7-0). Later in the 4^th quarter, with the Packers leading 7-6, Lewellen helped Green Bay on a scoring march of 80 yards on 15 plays. He accounted for 59 of the 80 yards (14 rushing, 15 receiving, 30 passing) that led to a touchdown and a 14-6 lead. The Packers would add another TD to close out the victory in the most important game of the 1929 NFL season.

Final Score:

Packers- 20
Giants- 6

The Packers would go on to win the 1929 NFL Championship- the franchise first-ever NFL title. The following day newspapers in New York wrote mostly about the play of Lewellen.

New York Daily News (C.A. Lovett) - “Lewellen distinctly outshone Friedman, both at passing and ball carrying…Lewellen annoyed Giants throughout game with his passing, end runs, punts and tackling.” (Source: New York Daily News, Nov. 25, 1929)

New York Evening World - “Verne Lewellen, was a potent factor in the Packers stunning triumph. Punts of 60 and 70 yards that spiraled from Lewellen’s shoe gave the visitors a decisive edge.” (Source: Appleton Post-Crescent, Nov. 27, 1929)

Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Harold Burr) - “Lewellen, kicked mighty spirals with a rain-soaked, heavy ball that boomed over Giants safety man’s head repeatedly. His passes were mostly perfection. If his foot wasn’t driving the Giants back, his arm was doing it.” (Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Nov. 25, 1929)

Looking back at the career of Verne Lewellen you can see why he is considered one of the best halfbacks of the two-way era. Even his peers could see his greatness:

Guy Chamberlin (Pro Football Hall of Fame player and coach, member of four NFL championship teams, to the Omaha World-Herald in 1965):

“I don’t recall many spectacular incidents involving Lewellen – probably because he was always spectacular.”

Johnny Blood (to the Press-Gazette’s Art Daley upon being informed he was voted into Canton as a charter member in 1963; Daley was Green Bay’s representative on the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee from 1963 to 1998):

“Verne Lewellen should have been in there in front of me and (Cal) Hubbard…Lewellen should be in the Hall of Fame just on his punting ability. He'd be an All-Pro punter if he played today. But, remember, he did everything else, too, and he did it all well. He was an excellent runner, a good passer, a good receiver, and a hell of a defensive back."

Charlie Mathys (to Lee Remmel in 1967; Mathys was the Packers QB from 1922 to 1926 and a member of the Packers Executive Committee/Board of Directors from 1927 to 1980):

“Defensively, offensively – of the players we had in the old days, Lewellen was No. 1. And I’m not alone in saying that. Any of the old-timers I’ve talked to say the same thing. The reason he is so often mentioned as a punter is because his equal hasn’t shown up yet. From 60 yards, if he aimed to put it out of bounds on the 5-yard line, he’d generally make it. He had almost dead accuracy. He was way ahead of his time in ability.”

Charles Mathys (to Lee Remmel, 1966, on pre-Lombardi Packers players):

“I don’t think there are too many players of that time who could have made it today, the caliber is so far advanced, but Verne Lewellen could have made it any time from that day to this … There hasn’t been a punter in all these years who could kick like Lewellen could. But he not only was a great punter, he was a fine defensive player and a fine offensive player.”

Jug Earp (Played center for the Packers, 1922-32; Packers PR director, 1950-53; said at a 1967 banquet honoring two of the Packers’ all-time greats, Lewellen and Bart Starr, that Lewellen was the key to the 1929-31 champs):

“Many times, (Lewellen) pulled us out of a hole – not only with his kicking, but by slashing through the line. We could call on him practically any time … He turned out to be a sensational punter, which is one of the things Curly was looking for, because in those days you tried to kick the ball out of bounds … And he was a great football player, and should be in the (Pro Football) Hall of Fame. And I’m sure the day will come when he will be in there.” 

Looking back at Verne Lewellen’s NFL career one can only scratch their heads and wonder why his name isn’t mentioned with some of the all-time greats of the two-way era. He was arguably the greatest halfback of the Packers during that time and one of the all-time greats on any team.

OPINION—Top Players Not in the Hall of Fame

OPINION

By John Turney 

These types of articles are hard because there are always a lot of players with Hall of Fame credentials who are waiting to be voted in and it always begs the question of what are "Hall of Fame credentials"

Each voter has their own set of criteria ranging from subjective intangibles ("he changed the game", "can you tell the story or the NFL without him") to more provable intangibles (toughness, leadership, playing hurt, intelligence, innovations, etc.). 

Then come the honors (All-Pro, Pro Bowls, MVPs, Player of the Year awards, etc) to the testimonials ("he was one of the top players I faced in my career" said a rival") to the jewelry ("he was part of two Super Bowl wins"), to the individual stats ("over a ten-year period, no one had more catches/sacks/rushing yards" etc.) and team success ("he was part of an offense that dominated football for four seasons").

Then there may be the scouting views ("scouts tell me that this guy was better than several of the safeties already in the Hall of Fame, even though he didn't get the Pro Bowls). This might also include the "eye test" as well. 

All of those things are valid but all of those things need to be looked at closely. After all when there is a discussion for anyone that means the player is not a sure thing, a Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lott, Peyton Manning, and so on, i.e. a case needs to be made and comparisons and qualifications need to be asserted so that some coach's pet player does not get in ahead of someone more qualified, especially in the senior category where, at the moment, slots are very limited.

That said, here is a list of players, by position, are the top, but NOT the only ones that should be looked at the closest. 

Center—Probably Jay Hilgenberg. 

Thirteen seasons, three-times All-Pro, seven Pro Bowls, and a ring. His "eye test" seems slightly higher than Jeff Saturday who has similar credentials. 

Jay Hilgenberg

Guards—Bob Kuechenberg (two All-Pros, six Pro Bowls) or Ed White (two All-Pros, four Pro Bowls) but there are a couple more we like. Doug Wilkerson is one, but we could name a few more.

Tackles—Mike Kenn, Joe Jacoby, and Tony Boselli. 

Boselli, we hope gets in this year in the "Honor the Queue" principle. He was one of the top ten last year and we think those four should get in this year plus one more, either from the final 15 or perhaps a first-ballot Demarcus Ware. No dog in that fight, but that way it would be a meat-and-potatoes class and no more waiting for Boselli.

Mike Kenn

Kenn had more "blue" seasons than a couple tackles in the Hall was All-Pro in 1980 and 1991 (eleven years apart) and in between. One of the best pass blockers ever.  Jacoby was a solid pass protector but a dominant run blocker who was excellent on the right side and was a very good guard when used to move. 

We hear about George Kunz, and he was good but he was about maybe the fifth or sixth best of his era behind Rayfield Wright, Dan Dierdorf, Ron Yary, Art Shell, and maybe even, skill set-wise Russ Washington whereas Kenn and Jacoby were both top five of their era.

Tight end—Todd Christensen or Russ Francis. 

Christensen has the stats but Francis was more complete.

Wide receivers—Recent wide receivers have it too easy. Stats are bloated and no one has done a great job normalizing them to account for the "inflation". As a result, fans and even writers spout off stats that include 1,200-yard years like it means the same as it did in 1985 or even 1995. 

Right now there are second-chair receivers on the verge of getting in the Hall of Fame when there are guys who had a tougher row to hoe still waiting and never getting a chance. 

For receivers, it seems the eye test is not always applied.

So, our picks are Del Shofner and Cliff Branch. Check the All-Pros, which is how they compared to their peers at the time. It is not the only metric but it does mean something. Also, in that era yards-per-catch was a thing. Check those out. Branch has three rings and played in a dead-ball era for half his career.

Running backs—Roger Craig seems like the most accomplished with rings, stats, eye-test, honors, and so on. But he had some flaws in his career, too.

The modern guys, how do you separate them? Fred Taylor, Tiki Barber, Steven Jackson, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Ricky Watters, Jamal Lewis, Eddie George, and Shaun Alexander all have some nuggets in their careers but can they be separated?

Quarterbacks—There are a lot of quarterbacks who are very hard to separate. They were very good at times, winning MVPs or some sort, but also had some poor seasons, too, but some of them even have a ring, even two. Roman Gabriel, John Brodie, Ken Anderson, Joe Theismann, Phil Simms, Randall Cunningham, Charlie Conerly, to name several. 

So, it's all or none. How about none and we take a couple of HOFers out to make it fair?

Defensive ends—Richard Seymour (30 end)

The second of our "respect the queue" players. he was in the top 10 last year and hopefully will get in. There is no reason we can see to make him wait. A hard-nosed player, moved around, was a tight-5 technique in base, a 3 technique in nickel but also would played over the center. A leader, has the jewelry, the scout's approval. Has everything but the stats but played a position that does not generate eye-popping stats. Put him in. 

(click to enlarge)

You can ignore Bruce Smith, he's off the chart and he was in a 3-4 a lot and was just different than the rest on this list.

Looking at the blind side guys it is amazing how close they are in credentials—Allen, Bacon, Baker, and Martin all had 20-sack seasons. Eleven of the 14 we list in the non-Hall of Fame categories average between 10½ and 11½ sacks per 16 games.

You can see the career sacks and the honors and the games played, started and games missed as well. We will not pick any of them and let the voters sort it all out. 

Defensive tackles—Bryant Young, Fred Smerlas (nose)

Smerlas was an innovator but no one knows it. His techniques were copied around the NFL, changing the middle guard techniques to an aggressive, attacking nose tackle position. As a pure 3-4 nose tackle, not a 4-3 shade, no one had played in, started more games at the position or made First-team All-Pro or made more Pro Bowls at the position.

Bryant Young was a left tackle when Warren Sapp was a three-technique. Young had to shade the nose perhaps half the time, rather than just get upfield. Still, he had 89.5 sacks (Sapp had 96.5) and he was better against the run. He was tough, came back from a devastating broken leg and was far better in the time after their All-pro runs when Sapp really dropped off.

Bryant Young

Inside linebackers—Randy Gradishar was the NFL's consensus 1978 Defensive Player of the year and was third in 1977. He has more MV shares than. His peak was extremely high. He was in the top 10 in 2003 and a top 15 guy. If the voters respect the queue hold, he should be the senior nominee he's been waiting for two decades and was super close in 2003.

Randy Gradishar

Zach Thomas, he was in the top ten in 2021 and should get in, like Boselli, "respect the queue"!. While never a consensus All-pro he still had good stats and was able to make the second slot All-Pro five times.

We think Patrick Willis had a higher peak than Thomas but that does not mean both should not get in. Injuries shortened Willis' career but at his best, he was a superb inside 'backer who excelled at coverage and was a sideline to sideline player. Would love to see him get in very soon. 

Outside linebackers—Demarcus Ware

He should get in soon, if not this year, then next. 

Of course, we've always been in Chuck Howley's corner. Yes, we know, another Cowboy, but we think he has the good over the other 4-3 outside linebackers that are waiting in terms of skill set, honors and stats as well. 

Cornerbacks—The best cornerback not in the Hall of Fame in our view is Albert Lewis. He was great and man and zone, long arms, could run supports, blitz from the slot, and was devastating on special teams, the best punt blocker ever. He's gotten no traction and we're afraid he's going to end up in the senior pool which would just be too bad.

Albert Lewis

Next? Lester Hayes or Louis Wright or Lemar Parrish, your pick. 

Here is a list of corners, though some are not eligible and a couple are still active however we included them on the chart for comparison purposes—

(click to enlarge)

We see Ken Riley's name thrown around and he was close last year, when the senior advisor was Dick LeBeau, his position coach in Cincinnati. And maybe this is a place for what ProScout calls a "long-term red". He does have the stats, he has 65 career picks and Dave Brown another long-term corner has 62, don't forget. However, is that the sole thing (stats) for Hall of Fame qualifications?

We hear all sorts of reasons Riley didn't get post-season honors, among them that it was hard to break through with Hall of Fame corners like Mel Blount, Emmitt Thomas, Jimmy Johnson to compete with. However, Riley also lost out to Monte Jackson, Rolland Lawrence, Hates, Wright, Parrish, Mark Haynes, Pat Thomas, Everson Walls, and Louis Breeden as well. 

Safeties—LeRoy Butler. 

We don't but the "he changed the game" thing because Fritz Shurmur did the same things with safeties long before he got to Green Bay that he did with Butler, but still, Butler is worthy and is another top ten respect the queue" guy

The player with the best peak is Nolan Cromwell, but a knee injury in 1984 stopped his All-Pro/Pro Bowl streak. While still "blue" in 1985 and 1986 he was forgotten by then. So he really has zero, even less, and zero momentum. We mention him because from 1979-83 no safety was better than he was and no safety did more things from being a free safety, to slot corner, to a linebacker in the "buffalo nickel" to being the best holder ever, to an excellent punt blocker and to this day he, Ed Reed and jack Christensen are the top three "range" safeties ever. 

(click to enlarge)

Kickers—Nick Lowery 

He has all the metrics and no one knows it. He doesn't have a chance but if folks would investigate the work by Chase Stuart and Rupert Patrick. Folks will break down stats by quarterbacks ad nauseam but don't look at kickers very often. 

John Elliott—Another AFLer Felled by a Knee Injury

By John Turney 

Elliott in 1970

For three years John Elliott of the Jets was a Super-productive defensive tackle on a super-productive team that won a Super Bowl in 1968.

In 1967 the Jets drafted a 6-4, 224-pound defensive tackle out of Texas and converted him to linebacker. That year he backed the starters and got most of his playing time on special teams while playing through a shoulder injury but late in the year he was moved back to the college position—defensive tackle.

In 1968 he got his weight up to 244 pounds (his proper weight according to teammate Gerry Philbin) and moved him to right defensive tackle. The '68 Jets defense went from a defense that allowed 4.2 rushing yards per carry to 3.2 and from 1633 rushing yards allowed in '67 to 1195 in '68 and their sack total rose from 39 to 43.

Individually Elliott made 81 tackles and sack the quarterback ten times. And, of course, the Jets famously won Super Bowl III against the 13-1 Baltimore Colts.

In 1969 his individual totals were essentially the same, 83 tackles and again ten sacks, and the defense was still stellar, allowing 1326 yards against the run (3.9 yards a carry) and sacking the quarterback 42 times and the Jets made the AFL playoffs, losing to the Chiefs who went on to win Super Bowl IV.

In 1970 All-AFL left end Gerry Philbin was hurt but Elliot had a great year, making All-Pro, making 75 tackles, 12½ sacks, 7.5 stuffs as the defense allowed 1283 yards, 3.1 yards a carry. Though without a healthy Philbin the sacks dropped to 35. 

It really was a tremendous three-year run for the Jets front seven, led by the front four of Elliot, Philbin, Verlon Biggs, and a few different left defensive tackles allowing 1283 yards rushing per season for a 3.4 yards per carry average and an average of 39 sacks a season and within that framework Elliott averaged 80 tackles and 11 sacks and was Second-Team All-AFL in 1968, First-Team All-Pro in 1969 and Second-team-team All-NFL in 1970 and was an AFL All-Star/Pro Bowler all three years. 

Pete Lammons, fellow Jet and Longhorn opined, “He was as good a defensive tackle as there was in the game, either the AFL or NFL. We all thought very highly of him.”

Another Jet, said in 1970, “I personally think he’s the best defensive tackle in football, by far, said Jim Hudson, “And that includes all of them”. (Of course the "testimonials" from a teammate or a coach of a player need to be looked at carefully, they can offer at lease some insight and are worth being included even if they might be a wee bit biased.)

However, Elliott did make a least one enemy—Gene Upshaw, who called Elliott a “cheap shot artist”. He also accused Elliott of greasing up the refs to watch for him and Art Shell to get extra holding calls. “That’s all Elliott”, Upshaw told the media, who added, “he’s always getting late hit calls on quarterbacks.”

Jets head coach Weeb Ewbank was effusive about Elliott, “One guy alone cannot handle him. The only way to keep him out of a play is to hold him double-team him or shoot him”.

His line coach, Buddy Ryan said, “He’s not the biggest or but he’s the quickest and the fastest, “John’s been clocked in 4.7 for forty yards”.  Ryan added. “We’ve seen him making tackles downfield on pass plays. Having him makes me look like a helluva coach.

Ad for Elliott, he was more of the quiet Texas-type but when asked about his style said that he didn’t like to read plays, that if you did “(Y)ou lose a little. . .he’s moving and you’re still reading. There is only one way to play and that’s to charge full speed ahead when the ball is snapped. You don’t guess, you go. You have to have penetration. If you have penetration on a running play, you can mess it up and if it’s a pass maybe you can dump the quarterback or at least for him to rush his throw”.

Elliott’s respect was shown when he was voted the team MVP by his teammates. Not only that he was voted the team MVP by the Jets Parking and Chowder Society. 

When one wins that, he's reached the pinnacle—

Then, as so always seemed to happen to great AFL players, the injury came. His came in the form of a knee injury four games into the 1971 season.

He came back in 1972 but was not the same. He was nagged with minor injuries that year and also in 1973. He averaged 60 tackles and 2 sacks in those two seasons, far below his usual production.

Elliott was making $35,000 in 1973 (up from $24,000 in 1970 and that was up from $16,000 in 1968) and wanted his salary more than double but the Jets balked, offering $40,000. So, Elliott played out his option, making him a free agent for the 1974 season.

Rather than sign with an NFL team which he was free to do, he signed with the New York Stars on the World Football League. 

He ended up making the All-WFL team, but the team folded after 13 games and Elliott told the New York Times five years later that the team/league still owed him $11,000. 

With former Jets teammate Gerry Philbin while with the WFL's New York Stars

Elliott attended Warren High School in Warren, Texas, and collegiately at the University of Texas where he was Second-team All-SWC as a junior even though he had a sore knee all season. He missed six games as a senior with an ankle injury.  All that after playing his sophomore season with an injured shoulder then cracking a leg in the Orange Bowl against Joe Namath and the Crimson Tide. The Jets took Elliott in the seventh round of the 1967 AFL-NFL Draft.

After his career, Elliott ran and won a sheriff’s post on an anti-corruption platform and later got into the oil industry in Texas.

In November 2010, John Elliott died from cancer in Houston, Texas. He was 66 at the time of his passing.

Regardless of the testimonials of his teammates, we don't think Elliott was quite as great as they said—the best defensive tackle in the business. We think that Lilly and Olsen were better and that Keating was also better, when healthy. But, still, Elliott, for those three seasons, 1968-70 was close, so give the man his due.

He had excellent quickness and some natural strength, but not to the level of Keating or the natural strength of Olsen or Lilly or the quickness of Page or a combination of both like Joe Greene who was still getting started in 1970. We'd call him a top-five to top-eight guy. Maybe a hair higher at his peak.

But like so many guys who started in the AFL, after he got hurt he lost some (a lot?) of his effectiveness so judging his career would yield one result, but judging his peak would yield a very high result. 

The 1968-70 Jets front four will never be confused for the early 1980s New York Sack Exchange with got to the quarterback far more often, but the late 1968-70 line was much, much better at stopping the run, and Elliott, Philbin, and Biggs could get to the passer with good regularity. 

It's just another case of  "what if?" What if Namath didn't get hurt so often from 1970-73. What if Philbin and Elliott had stayed healthy? Could the offense and defense been able to keep the Jets in contention like they had been from 1968-69? We will never know, of course.

But we wish he'd have seen a little more of the 6-4, 244; 4.7 forty-yard dash guy John Elliott. 

Career stats—

*Played in 1974 with the New York Stars